10 Crazy Game Consoles That Were Doomed to Fail
The history of gaming since 1972 is inextricably linked with game consoles, which offered new ideas, concepts, exciting games and propelled the gaming industry forward. And while Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo dominate the console market today, history remembers dozens of other companies that have tried to redefine gaming and revolutionize the industry. But some consoles would be nice to stay only at the concept level and never go out, but what's done is done, so today we'll look at 10 crazy and disastrous game consoles. 10. Virtual Boy Over the years, Nintendo has rightfully earned its reputation as one of the leaders in the console race. But the Japanese giant also had unsuccessful consoles, and the worst of them, perhaps, Virtual Boy. The concept turned out to be bold - Virtual Boy came out in 1995 and was the first to offer stereoscopic 3D imaging on the market. Everything was good, except for the high price, primitive graphics and only 22 two games released. As if that weren't enough, even tiny gaming sessions in Virtual Boy turned into real Hell, causing bouts of nausea, headaches and eye strain from contrasting monochrome graphics. 9. Pioneer LaserActive The giant Pioneer LaserActive was a console ahead of its time. At least in terms of the graphics level in games. Unprecedented realism of the picture was formed by overlaying technological graphics on high-quality video. And the decision to use optical discs instead of cartridges was also a revolutionary decision in many ways, but, unfortunately, new technologies did not save Pioneer LaserActive. The rarely released games did not find popularity with critics, and the truly insane $ 1000 price was the main nail in the lid of a bulky console coffin. 8. Telstar Arcade Let's continue the top of insane consoles with the amazing Frankenstein from Coleco. When today a whole range of accessories is offered for fans of racing games, Telstar Arcade was developed on the "all inclusive" principle. Judge for yourself, the device was equipped with a built-in steering wheel, gear lever and dials. And as a nice bonus (you never know what adventures can await on the road), a holster with a pistol was built into Telstar Arcade. 7. Super Lady Cassette Vision For many years, video games have remained a hobby for the stronger sex. Epoch, apparently reflecting at leisure about the size of the female audience and figuring in mind the number of zeros that they miss due to the industry's focus on boys and men, decided in 1984 to release the first console for girls - Super Lady Cassette Vision. The pink color of the body and the games about fairies and princesses were made as if according to a manual with all popular gender stereotypes. But the female audience did not appreciate the efforts of Epoch and over time the Super Lady Cassette Vision game console went to the dustbin of history. 6. View-Master Interactive Vision When it comes to insane consoles, it's time to remember the View-Master Interactive Vision game console. In its appearance, it resembles an alien artifact, but its game concept is even stranger than the design. Like the Pioneer LaserActive, the console combines pre-recorded video (videotapes only, instead of optical discs) with computer graphics. Each video segment had several options and different audio tracks that the player could interact with by pressing one of the 5 controller keys. 5. Entex Adventure Vision Now is the time to step up to Entex Adventure Vision, the top nominee for the "Largest Handheld Console Ever" award. The massive device from Entex was one of the first consoles, which, given their rather modest dimensions for the early 1980s, were equipped with a built-in screen that displays an image using a mirror and 40 LEDs. And although the device was selling for $ 80 at the time of release, today the console has become a godsend for collectors and in 2019 you can buy a game console from Entex for only a "modest" $ 5,500. 4. Ouya The last century has been full of bad consoles, but we also have to pay tribute to the strange devices released in the new millennium. You may remember the game console Ouya, which in 2012 managed to raise a record $ 8 and a half million on Kickstarter. The main feature of the console is the ability to display Android games on the TV and an open platform for the release of mobile games from independent developers. The final version of the console was riddled with a huge number of errors and offered such a small number of starter games that Ouya's sales quickly sank and the initially controversial startup was soon discontinued. 3. Apple Pippin Realizing the importance of the gaming industry, Steve Jobs's company decided to try its hand at gaming, releasing the Apple Pippin game console back in 1995. The console was doomed to fail for a number of reasons. The most important thing is positioning the device as an inexpensive PC designed primarily for running games. That's just how the Apple Pippin desktop computer did not cope with the task, since it came with an uncomfortable gamepad, instead of a keyboard and mouse. Even worse, Apple Pippin proved to be a game console - with a tiny number of games and a price of $ 599, it was significantly inferior in power to the Playstation released in the same year, the starting price of which was $ 299. 2. XaviXPORT The gaming industry is divided into two eras: before and after the release of the Wii console, which, using the technology of wireless controllers and motion sensors, attracted tens of millions of people infinitely far from video games into the industry. But giving the next honors to the Wii, it would be a real crime not to remember XaviXPORT, which was released two years earlier than the Nintendo console. XaviXPORT offered the same capabilities: motion sensors and a wireless steering system. The main omissions of the revolutionary console are the need to buy unique controllers for each game and the stake on primitive graphics, which played a cruel joke on the console. 1. HyperScan HyperScan is truly a gaming console ahead of its time. The console sold for a modest $ 69.99 and should have been a great option for parents to save money by purchasing an affordable gaming device for their kids. As a result, HyperScan was similar to the prototype of loot boxes: in addition to the disks on which the games were launched, the console was equipped with an infrared scanner to read materials from the cards that came with the kit. Maps are a kind of DLC and with their help (do not forget to take into account that new maps were sold for $ 9.99 in sets of 6 pieces) it was possible to activate new content, and sometimes even get access to basic functions, such as a save system. If you are interested in current consoles, we suggest reading about the best game consoles of 2019. The Topic of Article: 10 Crazy Game Consoles That Were Doomed to Fail. |
